Shoe-form.



A, LEGGE` SHOE FORM.

APPLICATION HLBD JAN. e, 1913.

ALFRED e. LEGGE, or EE'oox'ieN, MASSACHUSETTS.

SHOE-FORM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 8, 1914.

Application lod January 8, 1913. Serial No.`740,785.

To all w71 om. it may concern Be it known that I, Amnso G. Lsoes, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brockton, county of Plymouth, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Shoe-Forms, of which the following is a specification, reference being;l had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention has for its ob'cct to provide an improved shoe form whicli shall be capable of use in shoes of substantially all styles of toes in slices of a. given width. lleretofore, hollow shoe forms of leatherboard or similar material have in eneral been capable of use only in shoes o a sin- ,ele width and style of toe, that is for the particular form of toe, whether low or high, wide or narrow, for which the shoe forni was originally designed to be used, and duplicating in shape the last on which the shoe was made. As it has generally been necessary to make a ditlerent shoe form for each width. and for each style of toe, the shoe manufacturer has been obliged to procure different forms for each style of shoe of a given width, and themaker of shoe forms has been obliged to provide a last of suitable shape for each of these shoe forms. 'lhs has resulted in great expense to the maker of shoes, who is obliged to procure a large assortment of expensive shoe forms, and even with the greatest care is likely to ind that hc isshort of some size or style. lt has also resulted in large expense to the manufacturer of shoe forms, not only on account of the varicty of lasts required, but beeanse shoe forms cannot be made u i in advance and kept in stock. While it has been customary to provide shoe forms with adjustments both as to width and length these adjustments have heen primarily for the purpose of allowing the inevitable vara' tions between shoes of the same width' and style and to enable the shoe form to be expanded into the shoe: and while these ad- ]ustments may possibly, in some instances, have been used to adjust the form for use in a width next to that for which it was intended, nevertheless, so far as is known to me` no attcm )t luis over been made to provide a. shoe erm ea )able of use in the entire ran e of shoes o a iven width but haviiuz dll arent styles of ees.

lhe shoe form embed lng my invention la capable of use in all ordinary ddl'erent styles of shoes of a iven width, regardless of the style of toe, iat is regardless of whether the shoes have wide toes, narrow toes, high toes or low toes. It therefore results that it is necessary for the shoe nuinufacturer to buy only a single shoe-'form for each width of shoe, and this will lit all the styles of toes made in that width. Also the maker of the shoe form has only to provide himself with but a single width of last on which to make a shoe form to fit all styles of slices of that width. Great economy results.

The shoe form embodying my invention is capable of use with all styles of shoes of a. given-width, except that it is not capable of use in shoes havin f no boxes or toe stilieners, and when use with any of the various sizes for which it is intended it gives to the. shoes exactly the smoothness and elegant appearance presented when a form made especially for that width and style of shoe is employed.

The invention will be fully understood from the accompanying drawings, taken in connection with this specification and the novel features are pointed out and distinctly defined in the claim at the close 0f the specification.

In the drawings, Figure l is a view in perspective of a shoe i'orm embodying my invention. Fin. Q is a perspective bottom view of the shoe forni shown in Filz. l.

Referrin now to the drawings` there is shown at the fore part and Kat l the heel part of the shoe form, these members being preferably made of leather-hoard or other suitable resilient and somewhat flexible material and overlapping each other at the middle of the shoe form. 'lhc fore part A has the inturned edges a a. which lie m contact with the insole of the shoe when the shoe form is in place. 'lhese inturned edges supnort the shoe form in proper position vertieally so that when the shoe form is expanded a uniform pressure will be exerted on the upper. The foie part or toe part A terminates at a point just forward of the rear edge of the box` as it is unnecessary to support this part of the shoe by the shoe form. The two inturned edges a a. of the toe part are connected by means of some adjusting mechanism by means of which the toe )art may be widened or expanded when itis in plaee in the shoe. In praetiee l use a tonale joint composed of two members n and f pivoted at ,r1 and h resptu'tively to the 'saidinturned edges, and at z' to each other, one of said meinbers being provided with a thumb piece j.' The togglejoiiit" is preferably made with a long throw so that it will be capable of moving the sides of the shoe forni for the distance re uired by the difference vin width between tienarrowest and widest toes of shoes of the width with which forni is to he used.

The two parts of the shoe forni are piv-` otally connected and means are provided for adjusting` the parts of the shoe form longitudinally. 1n the drawings, I have shown a pivot C on the fore part and slidf able in a slotted plate D on the. heel art. Movable on the pivot C is a notched atch I provided with a series of notches if one of which engages a projection Z on the plate l). lioth sides'of the shoe forni are provided with similar ineans'ot` adjustment. 'lhe mechanism just described for adjusting the length of the shoe form, forms the subject. matter of my Letters Patent oiy the United States' granted Oct.. 7, 1918, No. 1,074,723, and therefore is not claimed herein, lait any other suitable means for adjusting the length of the shoe form may be employed.

Inin'aking my improved shoel form I use as a starting point for the measurements of length, a point at the waist of the forni which isahout the point M in the drawings, instead of measuring from the tip of the toe as I have heretofore done in the manufacture et ordinary shoe ferais. I also make the shoe forni relatively longer from this point to the licei so that the forni will be certain to be pressed firmly into the instep of the shoe.

When the form is put in )lace in the shoe the lenixth is adjusted so t iat the heel end will rest tirinly against the eounterof the shoe while the toelpart is forced against the vamp of the shoe and extends under the box so that the front end of the shoe form does not bring` up against the toel of tli'e shoe. The toe part of tlie'shoe forni is then expanded laterally to stretch the adjacent portions ofthe shoe until they lie smoothly over the forni this being accomplished by the toggle joint. Ifthe shoe luis a broad or lhigh toe,y the'front end of the toe part of -that the end of the shoe form being terminated on a line at. right angles to the length of the sole and at a point just forward of the rear edge of the box otiers no resistance to contraction except that of the natural resiliency of the material. As this portion extends under the box toe. the. shoe presents the saine appeiiraiice. as if the forni reached to the toe of the shoe.

The capability of niy improved resilient and somewhat flexible torni to accommodate itself to shoes of diil'erent styles, or shoes having, toes of dilterent heights and widths, is due to the fact that. the form has a truncated toe portion and does not extend to the end of the inside of the shoe, so that when said improved forni is inserted in a shoe, havingr a narrow or low toc it is free to contract 'or curl together. at its toe portion, as above stated, which it could not. freely do if it had a complete toc portion which would atloid ay bracing connection between the -sides of the toe portion ofthe forni and thus prevent a forni having a wide or high toe portion from contracting so as to tit a narrowor low-toed shoe.

What I claim is;

A shoe form composed of resilient. and somewhat flexible material and having a truncated open-ended toe portion which will adapt itself, niider presruirc` to shoes having ditlereut shapes or styles ot toes.

In testimony whereof I ullix my signature, in presence ot two witnesses.

ALFRED G. LEGGE.

Witnesses (iicouoii I". Diicr., Amon I-I. Moinusox.

Copies o! this patent may be obtained for ftve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Tatents, Washington, D. 0.

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